The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

“Nana ate a person?”

Even for someone accustomed to the concept of death, I couldn’t help but react to this statement.

“You might want to hear the whole story before making any judgments.”

Brian began to explain, though his expression was anything but pleasant.

“…so, to erase any traces, we burned the site and the bodies. We thought there might be remnants, but it seemed more important to erase any trace of Nana first….”

At first, he stumbled over his words, but it seemed like he managed to convey his message without major issues.

“That’s all…”

Heeding his advice, I listened quietly before making any judgments.

And my impression was,

Impressive, isn’t it?

I’m not being facetious; I mean it sincerely.

The ones who kidnapped Nana, who had sneakily left home, were slavers, or human traffickers, to be precise.

They must have seen Nana wandering the streets alone and thought she was an easy target. Though this is only speculation, not certainty.

By the time Nana was found, she was the only one left, and there was no one to ask about what had happened. Moreover, Nana herself, perhaps shocked by the event, didn’t say anything except for expressing her apologies.

It’s been exactly two days since I arrived after the incident happened.

Setting aside what happened, Brian not only made an appropriate judgment of the situation but also managed to handle the aftermath quite cleanly.

There wasn’t anything in particular to criticize.

“I blame myself for not taking more careful care of Nana. I am ready to accept any punishment…”

“No, you did well.”

He briefly lifted his head from his guilty stoop at my words of praise.

“Excuse me?”

“You did well. There were no injuries, right? That’s what matters.”

It took about three seconds before Brian let out a sigh of relief.

Just by looking at him, I could tell how much he had been through.

“So, where’s Nana?”

“She hasn’t come out of her room much. I checked on her a bit ago, and she wasn’t sleeping.”

I had heard that she hadn’t eaten in two days.

For our little one, skipping meals and naps, which are her greatest joys, must mean she was deeply traumatized.

It seems I’m the only one who can comfort her.

Without hesitation, I entered Nana’s room.

“……”

She must have known I was here all along.

Normally, she would have been the first to run up and ask if I brought her any gifts, but she didn’t even show her face despite knowing I had arrived.

From the turned back, I glimpsed a sadness in her that I had never encountered before.

-Huuuh!

Just when I thought she was sneaking a peek at me, she suddenly covered herself with the blanket.

Her reaction was surprisingly solid, almost amusingly so.

Feeling awkward just leaving, I decided to approach her.

“I’m sorry. I can’t face Papa right now.”

As soon as I sat on the bed, she spoke as if she had been waiting to say this.

“Why?”

“I did something wrong…”

“What did you do wrong?”

My question was admittedly a bit mischievous.

“I ate a person. The same kind of person as Papa, Brian, and Sister Emily…”

Hmm. Well, yes, but.

This might be a peculiar situation to others, but here’s my stance.

Nana is half human, half dragon.

Sure, a human eating another human is obviously problematic, but what about a dragon eating a human?

If we must compare, I think it’s akin to a human eating a bug.

It’s not that it’s inedible, but it’s not something one would typically seek out to eat.

Being treated even as bugs might be considered lucky, considering there are dragons who detest the mere idea of associating with us humans, let alone eating us like a meal.

It’s not like we, unless starving to the point of death, would eat bugs, right?

I’ve heard that among dragons, there are those with unique tastes who enjoy eating humans, but they’re a tiny minority.

Generally, they wouldn’t even give it a second thought.

So, I’m somewhat puzzled.

As much as Nana likes eating, I never expected her to eat a person.

If she grows up to be a man-eating dragon, that would be a problem, so it’s time for some proper correction.

“Come out, Nana. You have to face Papa.”

After hesitating, her face peeked out from under the blanket a moment later.

“Will you not hate me?”

“Let’s hear it.”

Seemingly reassured, she wriggled and moved closer to me.

“Did you ever want to eat people normally?”

“Not at all! I never thought about it! Nana is the same as Papa! People shouldn’t eat people!”

The instinct that people shouldn’t eat people is something innate, something one knows without being taught.

The reason Nana is so upset right now must be because she knows she’s done something she shouldn’t have.

“But why did you eat them?”

“Well, you see…”

Hesitating for a moment, Nana buried her face back into the blanket and said, “Because of the smell…”

“Smell?”

“Yes. Those people had a very evil and malicious smell. Just one look, and I could tell they were going to do something bad to me…”

In other words, she sensed a threat with her dragon’s keen senses. So far, it seemed there was no issue with her actions.

“But the smell was so sweet…”

This part seemed problematic.

“It was so sweet that I wanted to eat them right there. I think I wasn’t in my right mind from that moment…”

How should I explain this?

There’s a legend that floats around the continent, saying, “Dragons eat people who go around doing bad things that everyone hates.”

Summing up Nana’s words, it seems like the bad people emitted a delicious smell, which triggered her appetite…

Nana has very little experience with people.

This incident might as well be her first encounter with the vile side of humanity.

Though we need to keep an eye on her, she essentially dealt with those who intended to harm her.

That should be enough.

I have no intention of reprimanding her by bringing up human morality.

“Are you feeling okay inside?”

“Yes! Totally fine!”

“Then that’s all that matters. Don’t dwell on it too much.”

(E/N: could this be gentle parenting?)

I reached into the blanket to pat Nana’s head.

I can’t say it wasn’t my fault for putting her in that situation in the first place.

But it seems like we need to be careful.

If such an appetite continues to appear, it might become a significant issue when she becomes independent.

Nana crawled out from the blanket and soon looked towards the window.

“…”

She just stared out, not at anything in particular.

Her eyes were filled with gloom, as if she was troubled by worries.

“I felt suffocated.”

“What did?”

“Just felt more depressed and suffocated than usual. Even while sleeping, it felt like someone was calling me. So I came out. It felt like someone was calling me…”

Looking into Nana’s woeful eyes, my heart began to feel heavy as well.

Come to think of it, wasn’t this city not entirely unrelated to her?

With my mind made up, I immediately stood up.

“Let’s go out, Nana.”

“Where to?”

“Out for a walk.”

Her eyes started to sparkle with excitement again.

* * *

The sky, tinted with the hues of sunset, brings a gentle evening breeze that stirs a sense of lethargy upon the skin.

From the moment I heard the term “slave trader,” I had my suspicions.

It was probably the remnants of Zickerman Albas, whom I had assassinated two years ago.

Standing atop a high hill, looking down, I could see the building of the Merchant Guild where I had first found Nana’s egg right after killing Zickerman, and where her mother had died.

“……”

Despite it being her first visit, Nana’s eyes held a distant look of someone returning to their homeland after a long time, instinctively feeling the significance of this place to her.

“Papa.”

“Hm?”

“Do you think I’m really a human?”

She’s asked this before, not just now but occasionally.

What is she, exactly?

Each time, I’ve told her she is human.

Just a bit more special than others.

Though realistically she’s in a sorrowful position of not quite fitting in anywhere, I’ve always assured her she’s no different from us.

“Is this where you and I first met, Papa?”

“How did you know?”

“I just felt it. It felt familiar and incredibly nostalgic…”

She’s an impressively intuitive child, figuring things out without needing them to be spelled out.

The Merchant Guild building had been closed since Zickerman’s assassination, unvisited by anyone for two years.

Occasionally, some homeless people ventured inside, but rumors circulated that the ghosts of dead slaves appeared and drove them all away.

I worried that Nana might be frightened by the atmosphere emanating from the building, but

“Do you want to go inside?”

“Yes!”

Nana answered without a hint of hesitation.

The interior was in a far worse state than it had been two years ago.

Dust covered the floors, rust had taken over the walls, rats ran rampant, spiders had made their homes in the ceilings,

and the severe stench emanating from the garbage strewn about only added to the dire state of neglect.

But Nana seemed unfazed, quietly following behind me.

We finally arrived at a certain underground space.

Not a single body, nor anything else, was present.

Curiously, unlike other areas, not a speck of dust had settled here.

It was a narrow space, just big enough for one person to lie down.

It felt as if someone had been sitting there until just moments ago, leaving behind a faint warmth.

I bent down and placed my hand on the floor.

-Woong

Black aura rose from my hand along with mana.

“What are you doing, Papa?”

“Have a good trip.”

She tilted her head in confusion at my words,

“…!”

The rising aura soon enveloped Nana.

She didn’t feel threatened, offering no resistance.

I stepped back, giving her a moment of solitude.

[You don’t think this is too harsh for the kid?]

Kaeram, who was also watching, asked me.

“It’s something I should have done eventually. The timing just got moved up.”

Especially with how quickly the child is growing.

It’s part of the 7-star dark magic , which transforms a part of my memories into a vision, showing the target a false illusion. Right now, Nana is seeing a past memory I’ve created through the illusion.

Roughly what happened here two years ago, in its entirety.

I don’t want to show her how miserably her mother died.

I just want her to realize.

That she is undoubtedly a human, born from a human and nurtured with human warmth…

“…!”

As the effect of the illusion ended, the aura disappeared instantly.

Nana, having seen the entire memory, showed neither a smile of joy nor tears of sadness.

“Did you have a good meeting?”

“Yes. Mama hugged me and said to live happily.”

Though it was a false illusion, it became a precious meeting for her.

“Let’s go, Papa! I’m hungry now!”

Nana, revitalized, stood up spiritedly.

I leisurely watched her back as she headed out.

Somehow, she seemed a bit taller.

(To be continued)